Born in Tripolis in 1979, he grew up and still lives here. As a child, for as long as he can remember
himself, he has been trying to make jewellery by many dierent materials in order to wear them in
Halloween and while playing his games in the nature with his friends.
He had not even nished primary school and his father was sending him to his dental technician
colleagues to keep him busy. He was always telling me to try and take up any kind of art. He did not
agree with my studying in a university as he could see the gradual saturation of any other profession.
Eventually, entering a workshop of jewellery manufacturing, he was fascinated by the way the metals
were being processed to become pieces of jewellery in the end. He started with the mopping and the
cleaning of the shop but he was watching his boss working at the same time. After a while he started
to learn the craft. In the meantime, he was carving wood or bones at home, making many kinds of
depictions on necklaces;and when his ngers were getting tired,he was grabbing abrush and he was
painting, mainly ancient drawings on marble, tile or crockery.
Panos Mourlas narrates and daydreams under the dimmed lights of his small workshop whose shopwindows
are full of small jewellery masterpieces, all of them made in hand, one by one. The designs are unique and they are products of his
research and experimentation. None of them looks like another. All of them are original, unique and processed with the secrets and the techniques
of the metals coming from the whole range of the Ancient Greek civilization,but also copies of ndings of jewellery from the Neolithic
Prehistory, from 4500 B. C. to the Byzantine years!»We ought not to lose our connection with the
past»says Panos,looking us with his expressive,laughing eyes,still lled with light and quest.
He studied in the jewellery manufacturing school of Stemnitsa for three years. His teacher was Nikos
Aggelakopoulos, who was a student of the late Labis Katsoulis, the founder of the school. Panos set
up his own workshop in the basement of his house, where his big adventure of quest and creation
began from.
While I was in the army, I could not get a leave for a long time. That was really harsh for me, but just
for one reason: because I was not able to create. However, I found the solution; I started to carve with
my penknife on pieces of wood that I found in the camp, creating several depictions!
The jewels shop was opened in 2003 on the pedestrian precinct of the town.
«What is art? What can I say? When you create and the main reason for doing this is to earn money,
when you copy or reproduce the same piece again and again, you cant call this art. The industry
and the machines aim at the money and consequently at the copying and the massive reproduction.
I believe in the superiority of people. Each day of creation you need to learn and be humble for what you do, because you cant know whether
you will have the inspiration, but also the courage and the strength to do it the next day or not. The moment of the creation, thats what I would call
art.Ido not if i can give a perfect denition »
Panos has also another passion and love;...photography!His les in the computer with the big bright
screen are full of old buildings, insects, pictures and details of everything in the nature. He also has
pictures of his partner in life, Ioanna, who he believes and loves!
-simply is a quote from a newspaper that relates to me. ... Thanks for your interest!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vMjYBbEl5Jc